Yuma, Arizona. – There’s good news for local families: Yuma will reopen its Boys & Girls Club in August 2022.
The City of Yuma will partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley to lease the John B. Smith and Edna P. Smith Campus, located at 1100 S. 13th Ave., to offer a fun, safe, and high-quality youth development afterschool program.
All members ages 5-18 pay just $30 a year for an annual membership to the Club. Youth ages 5-12 will pay a monthly fee of $80 per month for programs during the school year. Scholarship funding is available for participants. Teens ages 13-18 may attend the Club for free, with paid annual membership. Parents will have the option of paying monthly, by semester or for the whole year.
The reimagined Club will be open from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on weekdays and members will enjoy a snack. The Club will also offer programming during school breaks and summer.
To assist with startup and operational costs, the Yuma City Council allocated $100,000 in ARPA funding and the Quechan Tribe donated $14,252 in gaming revenues.
“Bringing back the Boys and Girls Club programming is a big win for our community,” said Mayor Douglas J. Nicholls. “It will ensure our youth have a safe and positive place to learn and grow, and parents have affordable after-school and summer program options.”
For 75 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley has been creating equity and opportunity for youth through academic, social and workforce opportunities.
“We are thrilled to bring back a program that is critical to the vitality of the Yuma community,” said Marcia Mintz, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley. “Our Clubs are a place for youth to achieve academic success and build character and leadership.” BGCAZ is working to create a local Yuma Advisory Committee of volunteers and business leaders to help develop partnerships and resources to support the Club and its members.
The John B. Smith and Edna P. Smith Campus has a long history of community support and involvement. Most recently, the Housing Authority of Yuma (HACY) was leasing the facility to operate the afterschool SHINE Program. Earlier this year, HACY notified the City that they would not be renewing the lease and instead would be offering after-school programming on a smaller scale at their housing facilities.
For more information and to register, call 602-954-8182 or visit www.BGCAZ.org/Yuma.